A general semiconductor exposure apparatus sets, by using parameters, switching of its control method, an offset value, and the contents of a wafer exposure process. The exposure apparatus provides an operator with an editing window (user interface) as a means for setting various parameters. The operator sets these parameters via the editing window.
The editing window associated with apparatus parameters (system parameters) for setting switching of the control method and the offset value uses different parameters as editing targets, depending on the type of works using the exposure apparatus. Therefore, the parameters are classified for the respective works. In the individual works, the parameters are further classified for a plurality of functions because of the necessity of setting for the functions.
In order to edit the system parameters with the above structure, a conventional system parameter editing window has a hierarchical structure in which the individual works are defined as a parent window of an upper level, and a function contained in each work is defined as a child window of a lower level.
In many cases, recipe parameters as the contents of the wafer exposure process have a value common among recipes used for the same device. However, in a conventional recipe parameter editing window, the individual recipes can be edited only separately (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-340500).
If the system parameter editing window has the hierarchical structure in which works are defined as parents and functions are defined as children, window transition passes from the work to the function. However, after the window is changed to a function, which belongs to a certain work, to change the window to a function of another work, the window must be temporarily returned to the work and changed to the other work. This requires a heavy work load for window transition.
Furthermore, in the recipe parameter editing window, the individual recipes are separately edited. However, a plurality of parameters having the same value among a plurality of recipes used for the same device are present. Therefore, although the parameters have the same value among the recipes, they must be set for the respective recipes. As a result, there is still room for improvement in the conventional recipe editing window.